You're a Fool, Rhett Butler
by Crittab
Summary: Jeff and Annie have to act out a romantic scene from "Gone with the Wind" for drama class.


**Title: **You're a Fool, Rhett Butler

**Rating: **PG

**Spoilers/Warnings: **None

**Words: **2,411

**Disclaimer: **I don't own _Community_ or _Gone with the Wind_

**Summary: **Jeff and Annie have to act out a romantic scene from _Gone with the Wind_ for drama class.

* * *

**A/N:** Based on an old Ficcy Friday prompt from Midtega, but with some changes for the sake of brevity: Professor Garrity forces Jeff and Annie to act out and English class play to the class and the group. The roles require them to kiss, which after a bit of hesitation they do, but Garrity has them act it out each class day, which leads to the kiss to become hotter every time they rehearse.

* * *

**You're a Fool, Rhett Butler**

"You've been married to a boy and an old man. Why not try a husband at the right age? With a way with women?" Jeff mumbled, holding his script out in front of him. This was _not_what he had in mind when he agreed to take a drama class with Annie during their fourth year.

"You're a fool, Rhett Butler. When you know I shall always love another man," Annie cried, way overselling it. Jeff peered down to his next line and swallowed hard.

"Stop it. You hear me Scarlett, stop it. No more of that talk." He saw Annie's eyes widen at the next stage direction and he relaxed when she immediately skipped over it.

"Rhett don't, I shall faint," she exclaimed.

"And I want you to faint. This is what you were meant for. None of the fools you've ever known have kissed you like this..."

"Cut!" Professor Garrity interjected. "Cut, cut, for the love of GOD just stop it!" he exclaimed. Jeff dropped his script onto the table next to him and crossed his arms.

"Why are you trying to _ruin_ one of the most celebrated scenes in the history of literature and film?" Garrity demanded. Annie sputtered for a response, but Garrity just ignored her and turned to Jeff. "Jeffery, this kiss is the _moment_. It's the _moment_! It's the pinnacle, the coup de gras, the embodiment of passion and desire. Without that kiss _none_ of this means _anything!_" He turned to Annie. "And you! I don't know what Vivien Leigh ever did you to you, but your mockery is an absolute abomination." Annie's lip began to quiver, but it had no effect. "ABOMINATION!" he repeated for extra emphasis.

"It's not Annie's fault," Jeff attempted. "We're just not... comfortable doing the scene."

"Yeah," Annie jumped in. "Maybe we could do a different scene, or a different film for the Dramarama," she suggested. Garrity pinched the bridge of his nose and did a few odd breathing techniques before speaking in a more measured tone, but one that still held undercurrents of hostility.

"Do you know why I chose the two of you for this scene?" he ground out. Both shook their heads. "Because you _have it_, deep within you—both of you. And it's begging to get out! It's clawing at your insides and it's grasping for release and it's _right there!_ Right There! And you keep pushing it down. Week after week I see you pushing it down, forcing it down, _condemning it_ to never seeing the light of day!"

"Uh... what 'it' are you talking about, exactly?" Jeff asked.

"It," Garrity explained, "is the indescribable, uncontrollable, innate _thing_ that makes an actor and actor. It's passion and willingness and a deep connection to reality," he explained. "And that's what this class is about: being open, being vulnerable, and being free—and if you don't find 'it' and free 'it', you'll both be receiving 'F's for the semester." Annie gasped.

"Wait," Jeff interjected. "You can't fail us because we don't want to kiss for your stupid Dramarama."

"I can fail you for failure to complete the course objectives," Garrity countered. "And the objectives clearly state that groups must perform a scene of my choosing for the Dramarama." Jeff gritted his teeth.

"Fine," Annie finally spoke up. Jeff's eyes shot to her. "Fine—we'll do it. Just don't fail me... us."

"Annie, seriously?" Jeff asked. She shot him a glare.

"I'm not failing one of my last classes because you're too uptight to play out a scene from some stupid old movie," she bit back. Garrity visibly shuttered.

"Forgive her, Margaret Mitchell," he said to the ceiling. Then he turned back to the pair. "Do it again!"

Jeff glared at Annie as he reclaimed his script.

"This is an honorable proposal of marriage, made in what I consider a most opportune moment. I can't go all my life waiting to catch you between husbands," Jeff read aloud, picking up at the point in the scene that Garrity had designated for them to start.

"You're coarse and you're conceited. And I think this conversation's gone far enough. Besides, I shall never marry again," Annie responded, still overdoing it. Garrity rolled his eyes, but kept quiet as he watched.

"Oh yes, you will. And you'll marry me," Jeff said.

"You...you? I don't love you. And I don't like being married."

"Did you ever think of marrying just for fun?

"Marriage, fun? Fiddle-dee-dee. Fun for men you mean. Hush, do you want them to hear you outside?"

"You've been married to a boy and an old man. Why not try a husband at the right age? With a way with women?"

"You're a fool, Rhett Butler. When you know I shall always love another man," she exclaimed, watching him with nervous eyes. Jeff took a deep breath.

"Stop it," he said, swallowing and stepping forward. "You hear me Scarlett, stop it. No more of that talk." He leaned down and placed a quick peck to her lips.

"Oh good God!" Garrity interrupted once again. "You call that a kiss, Winger?" he exclaimed. Jeff rolled his eyes.

"I call it a C-plus," he deadpanned. Garrity stepped a little closer.

"If you think I'm awarding that petty effort with anything other than a failing grade, you've got another thing coming," he threatened. "Rehearse!" he told them. "Both of you. Rehearse, and come to class tomorrow prepared to do this scene as if you were Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh."

Jeff and Annie watched him walk away, an awkward tension sitting between them.

"We should practise," Annie said lowly. Jeff ground his teeth together, but found he couldn't argue. It was too late to drop the class, and he needed this credit to graduate.

"Fine," he allowed. "Come to my place tonight and we'll... work it out." He and Annie exchanged awkward goodbyes before each making a hasty exit.

* * *

It wasn't that Jeff was particularly opposed to the concept of kissing Annie. He'd done it before, he wasn't about to try and fool himself into thinking he didn't like it; hell, he freaking _loved_ it. Annie was talented in plenty of areas, and that was most certainly one of them.

He also wasn't about to claim that he didn't _want_ to kiss Annie. Most of the time he wanted it more than he cared to admit; but doing it like this was just so cheap and awkward. He didn't want to kiss her because someone else told him he had to. He wanted to kiss her because the timing was right, and they were finally in a place in their relationship where a kiss wasn't _just_ a kiss anymore.

He shuddered at his own sappy thought process as he wandered around his apartment picking up odds and ends and making sure the place was respectable for when Annie came by. Rarely did anyone from the group (or anyone in general) stop by his apartment. Once Troy, Abed and Annie had all moved in together it just made more sense for the group to meet at their place.

He felt his stomach flopping around as he thought about the night's roster: he and Annie had just a few hours to learn a scene from a seminal classic, figure out how to perform it as well as it was meant to be, and then, as if that wasn't hard enough, practise _kissing_. Never in his life did he think he would need practise in that department, but according to Professor Garrity, his version of kissing was an affront to centuries of romance. He tried not to take that personally, since he knew he wasn't exactly trying his best, but it still stung a little.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when three firm knocks sounded at his door.

"_Crap_," Jeff mumbled to himself. He tried to calm himself down before answering, but realized that Annie probably wasn't going to wait another fifteen minutes for him to open the door.

"Hey!" Annie exclaimed with feigned excitement when he finally opened up.

"Heeeeyyy," he responded awkwardly.

"Can I come in?" Annie asked. Jeff realized then that he was completely blocking the doorway with his body.

"Oh, yeah, sure." He stepped out of the way, closing the door behind her. There was an extended silence as she slipped off her flats and shrugged off her jacket, draping it over the back of Jeff's couch. He watched as she pulled her script and a pen from her book bag before setting that next to her shoes.

And then she was just watching him, waiting for him to say something to alleviate the tension.

"It's not that big a deal," she eventually said.

"What isn't?" Jeff asked, startled by the sound of her voice.

"Kissing for the scene," she said. "We've kissed before. It's not like we don't know how it works." Jeff nodded slowly, but didn't particularly want to get into that discussion before they'd even worked through the lines.

"Let's get to work," he suggested. She gave him a curious look, but conceded. The two sat down on his couch and ran through just the dialogue for a while, ignoring the other elements of the scene until they had a fairly good handle on the lines.

Somewhere between his first marriage proposal and her final "Yes," Jeff felt himself relax. Studying with Annie was always the same. It was focused, but not without moments of levity. She was conscientious, but also kind of adorable when she nibbled her lip or the tip of her pen when deep in thought. It was predictable, and after nearly four years at Greendale, predictability had become hugely important in his life.

"How are you doing?" Annie asked after about 45 minutes of just running the scene over and over and over again. Jeff offered a small smile.

"Good," he thought a moment. "Annie, I just want to apologize for today. I know I kind of sucked, and I don't want you to think this isn't important to me." Her brow furrowed.

"What isn't important?" she asked. "The grade?"

"Yeah, sort of. But not just the grade. I want to do a good job for you too," he explained. She offered a small smile and reached over, grabbing his hand.

"I know you do. And for the record, I think you're going to make a great Rhett Butler." Jeff offered a small smirk.

"Of course you feel that way," he teased. "You get to make out with this," he gestured to himself and Annie burst out laughing, swatting his arm.

"Way to ruin the moment," she gently admonished. Jeff just chuckled and grabbed her hand, holding it until they both settled down.

"So... I guess we should probably figure out the blocking," he suggested after a moment. Annie nodded slowly.

"We should," she agreed. Jeff pulled himself off the couch, setting his now unneeded script on the table as Annie stood as well. They scooted over to his foyer so as not to be blocked by the coffee table.

"Shake it off," she suggested with a small smile, waving her arms around all 'loosey goosey.' Jeff laughed lightly. She was good at killing tension. He appreciated that about her.

"So..." he said slowly. "Start from the beginning, or just... jump in there?"

"I think we should just jump in," she said. "Rip the band-aid off quick, you know?" Jeff nodded slowly and said his first line.

"You've been married to a boy and an old man. Why not try a husband at the right age? With a way with women?" he said, putting in the effort to actually _perform_ the line as they had rehearsed it on the couch.

"You're a fool, Rhett Butler. When you know I shall always love another man," Annie exclaimed, only this time without the dramatic flair that had nearly given Garrity a heart attack.

"Stop it," Jeff said with some intensity. "You hear me Scarlett? Stop it. No more of that talk." He met her eyes briefly for a moment, the two sharing a look a determination, and suddenly his lips were on hers, kissing her at first with a false passion, but soon sinking into something more real. Annie's hands grasped his shoulders tightly as his arms wound around her waist, holding her to him as the pair kissed for longer than either intended, getting caught up in the moment.

Jeff's tongue slid along Annie's lower lip, seeking entrance that she readily allowed. He explored her mouth as they held onto each other tightly, not wanting to let go.

It was Annie who eventually broke away, dazedly attempting to reclaim the scene.

"Rhett don't, I shall faint," she said breathlessly.

"And I want you to faint," Jeff followed, his gaze settling onto hers intently. "This is what you were meant for. None of the fools you've ever known have kissed you like this, have they?" he asked weakly. "Have they, Annie?" Annie watched him a moment before responding.

"That's not the line," she said quietly, her body still firmly against his, his arms still holding her tightly. Jeff swallowed hard, realizing for a moment what he'd said.

"Your Charles or your Frank, or your stupid Ashley," he picked the scene back up, but they both knew it was gone. "Say you're going to marry me," he choked out. "Say yes. Say yes." Annie's eyes drifted from his eyes to his mouth and then back again.

"Yes," she breathed.

"Are you sure you meant it?" he asked. "You don't want to take it back?" She shook her head, her eyes pinned to his.

"No," she finished the scene. "Jeff," she breathed.

His lips were on hers again before he had time to consider an alternative. Her hands that gripped his shoulders rounded his neck, pulling their bodies more tightly together as they kissed and kissed and kissed, neither bothering with the pretense of Rhett and Scarlett or Clark and Vivien. They were just Jeff and Annie—that was all they needed to be.

* * *

"Bravo," said Professor Garrity, waltzing toward Jeff and Annie, slow clapping as he went. "This is what acting is all about," he said. "Honesty, vitality and vulnerability. I honestly believed for a moment that you were truly in love." Jeff shared a small, secret smile with Annie before responding.

"What can I say?" he asked. "I guess we just have 'it'."

**End**

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**I've been searching around old Ficcy Friday posts again, looking for some inspiration. I thought this one seemed like a fun idea that I hadn't really seen before in this fandom. Thanks to Midtega for the idea. I hope you liked it. Let me know!**


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